From Spike TV:
“The Ultimate Fighter 3” Champ Michael
Bisping Takes On Japanese Sensation Yoshihiro Akiyama In The Main Event
Welterweight Contender Dan Hardy Battles Carlos Condit In Co-Feature
New York, NY, July 29, 2010 – Great Britain’s best mixed martial artists
will be on display as the UFC heads across the pond for an action-packed
pay-per-view quality fight card airing on Spike TV (same day tape) on Saturday,
October 16 at 9:00pm ET/PT emanating from the O2 Arena from London, England.
In the main event, the first British winner of “The Ultimate Fighter”, Michael
Bisping (season 3), takes on Japanese superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama in an
international middleweight clash. For the co-feature, Nottingham,
England’s tough-talking Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy takes on American Carlos Condit
in a welterweight contest.
Michael “The Count” Bisping (20-3), fighting out of Manchester, England with
the Wolfslair MMA Academy, was the victor in “The Ultimate Fighter 3” under the
tutelage of coach Tito Ortiz in 2006. Bisping won two of his next three
fights in the Octagon® before dropping down in weight class from light
heavyweight to middleweight, where he proceeded to win his next three contests
including a victory over Chris Leben at UFC 89 in front of his fellow
countrymen in Birmingham, England. Since then, Bisping has continued to
fight the 185 lb division’s toughest competitors, including Wanderlei Silva,
Dan Miller, Dan Henderson and Denis Kang.
One of Japan’s finest mixed martial arts fighters, Akiyama (13-2, 2 NC) was the
winner of the 2001 Asian Championships and 2002 Asian Games in judo. He
made an impressive debut in the UFC at UFC 100 last July with a split-decision
victory over Alan Belcher, earning “Fight of the Night” honors. Following
a tough loss to Chris Leben at UFC 116, which also earned him a “Fight of the
Night” bonus, Akiyama needs a victory over Bisping to continue his path to a
title shot.
One of the world’s top welterweights, Hardy (23-7, 1 NC) most recently faced
UFC champ Georges St. Pierre at UFC 111 in March. “The Outlaw,” in the
biggest fight in his career, dropped a hard-fought five-round decision to the
legendary Canadian fighter. Prior to his title shot, the 28 year-old
Briton won his first four fights in the Octagon®, defeating such UFC notables
as Akihiro Gono, Marcus Davis, Rory Markham, and Mike Swick. A victory
over Condit furthers his quest for another shot at the coveted belt.
Condit (25-5), who trains in Albuquerque, New Mexico with the renowned Jackson’s
MMA team, is one of the division’s top contenders. Despite being only 26,
Condit is a mixed martial arts veteran and was the last man to hold the WEC
welterweight belt. He has fought many of the sport’s biggest names
including Martin Kampmann, Frank Trigg and Jake Shields.
Rising mixed martial arts star John “The Hitman” Hathaway (14-0), a former
rugby player from Brighton, England, is a perfect 4-0 in his UFC career
including an eye-opening decision victory over Diego Sanchez at UFC 114 in May.
He will be tested by 11-year-veteran Mike “Quicksand” Pyle.
Fighting out of Las Vegas, Pyle (19-7-1) is a former WEC welterweight champion
who is known for his world-class submission game and over a decade of pro MMA
experience. Pyle most recently defeated Jesse Lennox via triangle choke
submission in June at UFC 115.
The Spike telecast will open with a welterweight battle between “The Ultimate
Fighter 9” winner James “Lightning” Wilks (8-3) from Leicestershire, East
Midlands, England and Canadian Claude Patrick (12-1). Wilks, who
defeated DaMarques Johnson last June in “The Ultimate Fighter 9” finale, most
recently defeated Peter Sobotta at UFC 115 in June. His opponent,
Patrick, fighting out of Toronto, was victorious in his recent Octagon debut,
defeating Ricardo Funch via submission at UFC 115 in June.
Also on the fight card, a heavyweight showdown between Paris, France native
Cheick Kongo (25-6-1) and undefeated Travis Browne (10-0). Kongo is
returning to the arena where he enjoyed his finest moment in the Octagon, a
decision victory over Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 75. Kongo recently scored an
impressive over Paul Buentello in March. A native of Hawaii, the imposing 6’7
Travis Browne won his UFC debut in June over James McSweeney with a first round
TKO.
Other bouts might air depending available
time:
Cyrille Diabate (17-6-3) vs. Alexander Gustafson (9-1)
Stanislav Nedkov (11-0) vs. Steve Cantwell (7-3)
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Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the
world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.
Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com
and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit
Spike TV's press site at www.spike.com/press.
